Work on £2.5m creative hub for Loughborough begins

Building work to transform a former industrial building in Loughborough into a creative arts centre will begin this month.

The BBC reports that the £2.5m project to create a large-capacity, multi-purpose cultural centre for the town at the Generator Hall is due to be completed by next spring.

The Generator CIC, a community interest company managed by volunteers, said it has "been working hard for several years" to transform the 1930s building.

In addition to £1.8m previously secured from various channels, £700,000 from the government's Community Ownership Fund was confirmed on 22 December, allowing contracts to be signed and builders to be arranged.

David Pagett-Wright, Chair of the Generator CIC, said: "Alongside this amazing breakthrough, we've been working incredibly hard behind the scenes for reasons we can now reveal.

"When we went to tender in July 2023, we discovered that recent, exceptional inflation in building costs had made our established plans no longer feasible. We hit quite a wall.

"We had to re-work our plans, creating a two-stage approach, and then go back to our main funders to get their agreement. Thankfully, all are on board with this approach."